From the release:

It is forecast that within three years, the World Wide Web will contain significantly more content from Chinese and Indian language families, among others. In many of the regions where these languages are spoken, people can access the Web more easily through a less expensive mobile handset than through a desktop computer. Today the world has more than ten times as many cellphones as Internet-connected personal computers. With an improved SSML, people worldwide will have an increased ability to listen to synthesized speech through mobile phones, desktop computers and other devices, extending the reach of computation and information delivery to nearly every corner of the globe.

See the full story here.

News today from Business Wire says that SC Magazine has named Webroot’s Spy Sweeper Enterprise 3.0 the best anti-spyware program of 2006.  That’s quite a distinction.  SC Magazine provides IT security professionals with in-depth and unbiased information through timely news, comprehensive analysis, cutting-edge features, contributions from thought leaders and the best, most extensive collection of product reviews in the business.  Read the entire release here.

The story effectively covers a plan on the part of four companies to help residents of China out-fox Chinese government efforts to censor the Internet. From the story:

ATLANTA–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Four world-leading companies in Internet anti-jamming technologies reached an agreement today that starts full-scale cooperation in their technology and business operations. The four companies are the World’s Gate, Inc., the Dynamic Internet Technology, Inc., the UltraReach Internet Corp, and the Garden Networks for Freedom of Information Inc.

Internet users in China are unable to access blocked overseas web sites without outside help from the free world. Several companies, including the above four, have successfully developed and implemented technologies (anti-jamming services, also known as anti-blockade services) to enable Chinese users to break through the blockade and access overseas web sites.

In recent years, hundreds of thousands of users have been visiting web sites outside China through services of these companies on a daily basis, and the accumulated number of visits has reached beyond one billion. The four companies that entered into this cooperative agreement have been providing services to many overseas web sites on many topics, such as news, education, entertainment, human rights, and politics. These companies act as a bridge between the Chinese Internet users — thirsting for news from the outside world — and the blocked overseas web sites.

“Funding of these anti-blockade tools and services, in addition to the income from various service contracts, comes from donations and in-kind contributions in different forms from people from all walks of life. Many talented people work for these companies as volunteers,” said Mr. Bill Xia, President of the Dynamic Internet Technology, Inc.

The agreement is truly an astounding effort. The four companies are:

• The World’s Gate, Inc. is a private IT company offering Internet solutions for information freedom in China and other regions under suppressive regimes. Its current products include Internet based content, communications and anti-jamming platforms (web site: http://www.edoors.com). Its two major anti-jamming tools, GPass and FirePhoenix, are available for download as freeware for personal use in China from http://gpass1.com and http://firephoenix.edoors.com, respectively.
• Dynamic Internet Technology, Inc. (DIT) is a private technology company incorporated in North Carolina in 2001. DIT is at the forefront of anti-jamming technology for Chinese users, a leading researcher of Internet censorship in China, and an expert in mass-emailing to China. It has been providing mass mailing services for Voice of America (VOA) and Radio Free Asia (RFA) since February 2002, and for Human Rights In China since 2003. DIT has also provided short-term mass mailing services for China Information Center and The Epoch Times Inc. DIT’s web site is at http://www.dit-inc.us.
• UltraReach Internet Corp. has created a method for the connection and reconnection of users to enable website access without being blocked, and has also invented the technology platform called the Global Internet Freedom Technology (GIFT) system — a dynamic node-proxy anti-jamming system. UltraReach’s major anti-jamming product, UltraSurf, can be downloaded from their web site at http://www.ultrareach.com.
• Garden Networks for Freedom of Information Inc. is a not-for-profit organization that focuses on providing cutting-edge technologies to help people inside countries with censorship on Internet. Garden Networks has developed a series of software tools that have been introduced to Internet users and widely used in China since 2001. The software tools are available at http://www.gardennetworks.com.

A recent PEW report from May 2006 indicates:

Adoption of high-speed internet at home grew twice as fast in the year prior to March 2006 than in the same time frame from 2004 to 2005. Middle-income Americans accounted for much of the increase, along with African Americans and new internet users coming online with broadband at home. At the end of March 2006, 42% of Americans had high-speed at home, up from 30% in March 2005, or a 40% increase. And 48 million Americans — mostly those with high-speed at home — have posted content to the internet.

But 42% of Americans with high-speed internet at home leaves 58% without, and with a population of more than 300 million, that leaves a lot of people still sitting at home watching images load slowly on their machines.  We literally can’t afford to forget them.

There is a very nice tool that analyzes web pages, calculate page size, composition, and download time. The script calculates the size of individual elements and sums up each type of web page component. Based on these page characteristics the script then offers advice on how to improve page load time.  Web Page Analyzer is worth the time to diagnose your site.  Especially if your surfing fast.